As they walked on, the stroll became a little boring. Before Qian Lingyu tried to sparkle a new topic of conversation, Gu Xijiu asked him instead, "Lingyu, what do you think about the emperor?"

Qian Lingyu hesitated to reply at first. He suddenly felt immediately alarmed and answered quickly, "What about him? Well, he is quite good looking, but I am not bad, too."

"I am not talking about his looks. What do you think about his temperament?"

Qian Lingyu was alarmed, again. "His temperament? I suppose it is not bad. He seems friendly, especially when he smiles."

Gu Xijiu was astonished. It was a lame description.

"You think that he is friendly? Have you noticed any of his untrammeled behavior due to his n.o.ble background?"

Qian Lingyu could sense the warning sign. He grunted in reply, "So what? Anyone can easily be untrammeled by convention. I will certainly not be any worse than him!" While he spoke, he flicked his hair and his s.h.i.+rt as a sign of confidence.

Gu Xijiu finally threw him a look. "What is wrong with you today? Why do you keep comparing yourself to him?"

Qian Lingyu did not answer.

Gu Xijiu fell into a personal coc.o.o.n of silence, as she could somehow feel that Rong Jialuo was different from how he used to be. Rong Jialuo used to be more of a cool guy. He did not smile or talk a lot, even when he was with Gu Xijiu, his beloved friend.

However, the Rong Jialuo she met today had become more talkative. His temperament changed, too. He became more graceful and unconventional. Moreover, he was able to present himself as a domineering leader. His smile was so charming that it could overthrow the city.

Gu Xijiu and Rong Jialuo had been separated for the past eight years, so she could not be sure about the cause of his change, whether it was because of his insights from years of leaders.h.i.+p, or his experience from years of tough relations.h.i.+ps with the people.

Furthermore, his appearance had not changed much even after eight years. He still looked like a man in his twenties. His spiritual power increased, too. It used to be only at level six and a half; now it was level eight. The only flaw in the perfect man was his complexion. He looked unusually pale as if he had not seen the sun in years.

Gu Xijiu thought about the ritual ceremony of sorrowful souls' salvation. They had been tortured while they were alive, as they looked very distorted. Their bodies were covered entirely in red due to their soaring grievances. She could not even tell if they were men or women.

Luckily, she knew the most powerful method to expiate their sins. Otherwise, her inner strength would be affected by their extreme negativity as well.

Although she managed to keep calm, she could still feel the aftermath. Her blood started to boil with indignation, as the negative emotions within her were further provoked by the negativity of the sorrows. For an instant, she was tempted to slaughter the people around her.

She noticed that something was wrong before the negativity took over. With her extraordinary power, she quickly regulated her breathing and purified the negativity that had invaded her body. Soon, she managed to restore her calmness.

Under normal circ.u.mstances, her Kung Fu would usually prevent the surrounding negativity from invading her body. The sudden change took her by surprise. Was it because of her fragile state of mind? Or was it because of the strength of the sorrowful souls?

"Did you feel that the sorrowful souls were stronger today?" Gu Xijiu was perplexed.

Qian Lingyu hesitated a little but nodded. "They were really powerful, about ten times stronger than the normal ones."

He thought about it and continued, "They seemed very distorted. They had probably experienced extreme pain when they were alive. Apparently, one of them died from dismemberment, as it kept demanding that I gave it back its flesh. It gave me gooseb.u.mps just thinking of the situation."

"The sorrowful souls seemed to be created by someone on purpose, must be the fake Celestial Master Zuo, right?"